The embodiments herein generally relate to subterranean formation operations and, more particularly, to the use of water blockage agents using hydrolyzed canola protein hydrogels. As used herein, the term “hydrogel” refers to a gelled network of crosslinked macromolecules capable of undergoing a change in volume (i.e., swelling or shrinking) based on exposure to certain environmental conditions.
A natural resource, such as oil, residing in a subterranean formation may be recovered by drilling a well into the subterranean formation. The well may be isolated from the surrounding subterranean formation using an operation known as cementing. In a cementing operation, a cement sheath around a casing (or liner string) may be placed within the well. The cement sheath is formed by pumping a cement slurry through the bottom of the casing and out through the annulus between the outer casing wall and the formation face of the wellbore. The cement slurry then cures in the annular space, thereby forming a sheath of hardened cement that, inter alia, supports and positions the casing in the wellbore and bonds the exterior surface of the casing to the subterranean formation.
The subterranean formation may thereafter be stimulated for the production of oil through the cemented wellbore. In some operations, the subterranean formation may be stimulated by a hydraulic fracturing treatment. In hydraulic fracturing treatments, a treatment fluid is pumped past the cement sheath into a portion of the subterranean formation at a rate and pressure such that the subterranean formation breaks down, and one or more fractures are formed. Typically, particulate solids, such as graded sand, are suspended in a portion of the treatment fluid and then deposited into the fractures. These particulate solids, or “proppant particulates,” serve to prop open the fracture (e.g., keep the fracture from fully closing) after the hydraulic pressure is removed. By keeping the fracture from fully closing, the proppant particulates aid in forming conductive paths through which produced fluids, such as oil, may flow.
During oil production from a subterranean formation, water may seep from the formation and accompany the produced oil. The production of water with the produced oil may present major problems, including a significant reduction of oil production, the need for costly remedial actions, downtime in production, and the like. The water may seep into the wellbore with produced oil from any subterranean zone in communication with the oil producing formation, such as, for example, through a fracture, a high-permeability streak, a high-permeability zone, and the like, or may be the result of water coning, water cresting, lateral channeling, and the like. Additionally, the source of the water may be from waterflood techniques.
Conformance control treatments may be used to reduce the influx of water (“water shutoff”) with produced oil into a wellbore in a subterranean formation. As used herein, the term “conformance control” and any variants thereof (e.g., “conformance treatments” or “conformance control treatments”) refers to treatments that prevent, reduce, or otherwise control the influx of the undesired fluids (e.g., water) into the wellbore. Such conformance treatments typically employ particulates, gels, sealants, blocking polymers, and the like to restrict the flow of undesired fluids. Conformance control treatments may enhance recovery efficiency and reduce costly downtime or separation techniques required for separating the oil from unwanted produced water.